Page 39 of Chasing Paradise

“Okay. So who is that guy?” she asked, nodding over her shoulder.

“That is Marco, my guide.”

“Guide?”

“For the rainforest.”

“Don’t you have, like, maps?”

“Yeah. But the average person would get lost in minutes in the rainforest without someone who knows it well. I got word to him to meet me here, but I had no way to get word from him for when he would meet me.”

“Hence the fake being stranded thing.”

“Yeah.”

“Why not let me have the speedboat and go back to the other islands?”

“Honestly didn’t imagine you’d be able to drive it back. And I wasn’t exactly keen on being genuinely stranded if Marco didn’t make it here for some reason.”

“I mean, someone would come eventually…”

“This is a private island. The tour guides and islanders would all know not to come here. If Marco didn’t come, I’d be stuck here… maybe forever.”

“Is there no service?”

“You can get a bar here or there. But it’s rare. And it’s usually gone before you can try to shoot off a text, let alone call for help. I wanted a way off, just in case.”

“Why not just tell me?”

“Because you would have taken the boat.”

“That’s… accurate. So, what, were you going to tell me when Marco got here?”

“I figured I would have to. I’d bring you back to the island, then take off with Marco.”

“Into the rainforest.”

“Yep.”

“To get proof to clear your name?”

“Yes.”

“And then?”

“Then, the plan was to send the information to the investigators.”

“Was?” she asked. “It changed?”

“I’ve been… considering a change. A mutually beneficial one.”

“Involving me.”

“Yes.”

“Well, what is it?” she asked, putting the last of the rice mix into her mouth, then finally reaching for her powdered iced tea and draining half of it in one long sip.

“Once I get my proof, I let you take me in.”

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